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Friday, January 10, 2014

The Adventurer: Curse of the Midas Box (January 11th and 12th at the Cedar Lee Theatre)

[THE ADVENTURER: CURSE OF THE MIDAS BOX screens Saturday January 11th and Sundary January 12th at 11:00 am at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

I would never be one to say that the
world needs fewer 4 star movies. But the truth is, sometimes I just
want the cinematic equivalent of junk food. Pizza, chips, and soda
pop in movie form. And at no time in my life did I want that more
than when I was an adolescent. So while THE ADVENTURER: THE CURSE OF THE
MIDAS BOX is at no risk of
being confused with great cinema, it is a rousing adventure yarn that aims for the HARRY POTTER
audience, albeit on a budget.

I know $25 million sounds like a lot of
money to you,
but in movie terms, that's chicken feed. Nonetheless, THE
ADVENTURER
looks polished and professional, and while there aren't any
superstars in the cast, Sam Neil, Michael Sheen, and Leana Headey are
all fine actors who aren't exactly unknown.

The
plot is pretty standard issue boy's adventure stuff. Mariah Mundi
(Aneurin Barnard) and his brother Felix (Xavier Atkins) find out the
hard way that their parents belong to a secret government
organization charged with keeping powerful ancient artifacts out of
the hands of evildoers. One such evildoer is Otto Luger (Sam Neil),
who is presently trying to get his hands on two amulets that will
lead him to a magical box that, the legend states, turns whatever is
placed inside it into gold.

Fortunately for the forces of good another
agent, Will Charity (Michael Sheen), managed to swipe the amulets
before Luger could get them. Through a series of events the amulet halves wind
up in the possession of Mariah and Felix. Of course the bad guys are
hot on the trail and capture Mariah's parents and Felix, while Mariah
manages to escape with the help of Charity. Now it's up to the young
man to save his family, get back the other amulet, and stop Luger
from carrying out his nefarious scheme.

It's
all pretty by the numbers stuff, but director Jonathan Newman handles
it well despite coming from a background in indie comedies. Or maybe
that's part of why this was less annoying than so many of the
attempts to spawn another YA franchise in the POTTER/TWILIGHT/HUNGER
GAMES mold. Instead of focusing
on the action and special effects, Newman is a little more interested in
character and plot. The action and fantasy elements are still
present, mind you; they just don't take over the movie.

If it
weren't such an anachronism in this day and age, one could easily
describe THE ADVENTURER: THE CURSE OF THE MIDAS BOX as
perfect fodder for a Saturday afternoon kiddie matinee. As it
turns out, someone involved in distributing this film must be old
enough to know what a kiddie matinee is. At least that's how it's
being shown when it plays the Cedar Lee Theatre this Saturday and
Sunday at 11:00 am only. It's one of the few things I like about the new status quo of
digital distribution – movies that wouldn't stand much of a chance
dumped into the multiplexes for a regular engagement can still reach
their audience on the big screen in limited release. No, this isn't a
great film, and it's not likely to launch the next big franchise. But
it's not as bad as a lot of films aimed at the same audience that have
received wider releases (e.g. 2013's godawful THE
MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES). 2 ½ out of 4 stars.